Andy McGann had a piledriver kind of bowing, and I think
it comes from Michael Coleman, but exaggerated. There must be
a whole bunch of New York Sligo players on the mustard board,
so tell me - how do you get this effect? It sounds like a fast-slow
stroke. It would be a great tool for leading a session, although
I don't think I'd want to do it all the time.
Could you please elaborate-not sure exactly what you're referring to---are you talking about little double notes? (I call them doublets---one note less than a triplet)
I think I know what you mean, but it might be easier if you gave an example of a particular tune(s) that McGann played, maybe off one of his albums, to make it easier to explain. I can think of a few examples of what I think you're talking about, but I'm not totally certain.
FidDLe01 and fiddlefamily -
I'm referring only to the basic bow stroke - not to ornamentation.
Let's look at two tunes from It's A Hard Road to Travel
( http://www.thesession.org/recordings/display/41):
Monahan jig and The Reel Of Mullinavat.
He gives each stroke - a big Hunnngh!, then pulls back instantly so you get this feeling of controlled energy. You don't
I guess part it is finishing off the previous stroke very cleanly.
...You don't get it as much when he slurs into the beat, naturally.
With many fiddlers - especially people at neighborhood sessions
you don't hear strong pulse and it may take a flute or strong
backer to put a spine into the tune. That would never have been
a problem at an Andy McGann session!
I think it's that he puts a strong emphasis on the beginning of each note. He's accomplishing this by moving the bow faster at the beginning of the note, producing a sort of accent. I think you're right about the pulling back on the notes, mhuppert. It's also a matter of how he uses bowing to emphasize the downbeats, too. He almost always does a 2-note slur into the down beat, or a 3-note slur around the down beat. This really exaggerates the downbeats and gives his playing a very rhythmic feel.
There's a few other things I've picked up about his playing. At the beginning of the 7th measure of the first part of the Reel of Mullinavat, for example. He breaks up what is really a dotted quarter note G into three separate notes. The first note is a single bow, and the second two are slurred through to the following F#, with a grace note in between the two G's. This takes the place of where most people would just play a roll, but it's a lot more rhythmic than a roll because of the bow change. He does this a lot in his playing, especially in hornpipes. In the Monaghan Jig, he makes some interesting bowing choices. It's too hard to explain without breaking down his bowing for the whole tune, but basically, rather than slur into many of the downbeats where most people would, he plays them with separate bows. Again, it makes for a very strong downbeat and a very rhythmic sound.
Well, that's what I've picked up from many years of listening to and attempting to analyze his playing. Andy McGann is one of my favorite fiddle players, so I've spent a ton of time trying to figure out exactly the same question you're asking. You have to listen closely and break down his bowing in detail to really understand it, I think. Try playing along with the recording if you want to try to get that kind of a sound.
I don't know how this fits into all that, but McGann did his bow triplets starting on an up bow (up-down-up), the same way Coleman supposedly did his. So, theoretically, since most people do them starting on a down bow, his bowing would be backwards from most people's in many cases, especially in tunes with lots of triplets.
I'm not as big a McGann fan as you are, but I'm still fascinated by
how the great ones do what they do. And how they are all
lumped together as "Irish" when at the extreme they sound so
different from each other - like, I dunno - Cathal Hayden and
Paddy Canny for example.
McGann / NY Sligo bowing
McGann / NY Sligo bowing
Andy McGann had a piledriver kind of bowing, and I think
it comes from Michael Coleman, but exaggerated. There must be
a whole bunch of New York Sligo players on the mustard board,
so tell me - how do you get this effect? It sounds like a fast-slow
stroke. It would be a great tool for leading a session, although
I don't think I'd want to do it all the time.
# Posted on January 17th 2008 by Hup
Re: McGann / NY Sligo bowing
Could you please elaborate-not sure exactly what you're referring to---are you talking about little double notes? (I call them doublets---one note less than a triplet)
# Posted on January 17th 2008 by fiddlefamily
Re: McGann / NY Sligo bowing
I think I know what you mean, but it might be easier if you gave an example of a particular tune(s) that McGann played, maybe off one of his albums, to make it easier to explain. I can think of a few examples of what I think you're talking about, but I'm not totally certain.
# Posted on January 17th 2008 by FidDLe01
Re: McGann / NY Sligo bowing
FidDLe01 and fiddlefamily -
I'm referring only to the basic bow stroke - not to ornamentation.
Let's look at two tunes from It's A Hard Road to Travel
( http://www.thesession.org/recordings/display/41):
Monahan jig and The Reel Of Mullinavat.
He gives each stroke - a big Hunnngh!, then pulls back instantly so you get this feeling of controlled energy. You don't
I guess part it is finishing off the previous stroke very cleanly.
# Posted on January 18th 2008 by Hup
Re: McGann / NY Sligo bowing
...You don't get it as much when he slurs into the beat, naturally.
With many fiddlers - especially people at neighborhood sessions
you don't hear strong pulse and it may take a flute or strong
backer to put a spine into the tune. That would never have been
a problem at an Andy McGann session!
# Posted on January 18th 2008 by Hup
Re: McGann / NY Sligo bowing
I think it's that he puts a strong emphasis on the beginning of each note. He's accomplishing this by moving the bow faster at the beginning of the note, producing a sort of accent. I think you're right about the pulling back on the notes, mhuppert. It's also a matter of how he uses bowing to emphasize the downbeats, too. He almost always does a 2-note slur into the down beat, or a 3-note slur around the down beat. This really exaggerates the downbeats and gives his playing a very rhythmic feel.
There's a few other things I've picked up about his playing. At the beginning of the 7th measure of the first part of the Reel of Mullinavat, for example. He breaks up what is really a dotted quarter note G into three separate notes. The first note is a single bow, and the second two are slurred through to the following F#, with a grace note in between the two G's. This takes the place of where most people would just play a roll, but it's a lot more rhythmic than a roll because of the bow change. He does this a lot in his playing, especially in hornpipes. In the Monaghan Jig, he makes some interesting bowing choices. It's too hard to explain without breaking down his bowing for the whole tune, but basically, rather than slur into many of the downbeats where most people would, he plays them with separate bows. Again, it makes for a very strong downbeat and a very rhythmic sound.
Well, that's what I've picked up from many years of listening to and attempting to analyze his playing. Andy McGann is one of my favorite fiddle players, so I've spent a ton of time trying to figure out exactly the same question you're asking. You have to listen closely and break down his bowing in detail to really understand it, I think. Try playing along with the recording if you want to try to get that kind of a sound.
# Posted on January 18th 2008 by FidDLe01
Re: McGann / NY Sligo bowing
I don't know how this fits into all that, but McGann did his bow triplets starting on an up bow (up-down-up), the same way Coleman supposedly did his. So, theoretically, since most people do them starting on a down bow, his bowing would be backwards from most people's in many cases, especially in tunes with lots of triplets.
# Posted on January 18th 2008 by FidDLe01
Re: McGann / NY Sligo bowing
I'm not as big a McGann fan as you are, but I'm still fascinated by
how the great ones do what they do. And how they are all
lumped together as "Irish" when at the extreme they sound so
different from each other - like, I dunno - Cathal Hayden and
Paddy Canny for example.
# Posted on January 18th 2008 by Hup